Number 269 of 282 by height · Cairngorms and Monadhliath
Carn Sgulain
3,019 ft (920 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 683 058
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.12438, -4.17699
- Area
- Cairngorms and Monadhliath
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 10 mi (16 km)
- Climb
- 2,795 ft (852 m)
- Estimated time up
- 4 h 45 min
- Start
- Car park near Newtonmore
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind chill
- 28°F (−2°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (7 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 23%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,071 ft (936 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:26, 16:33
The way up
From Car park near Newtonmore, follow the track west for 0.7 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the Allt a' Chaorainn. It then turns north-west for 2.1 mi, climbing gently from 1,000 ft to 1,650 ft. Then follow the path west for 0.9 mi, climbing gently from 1,650 ft to 1,850 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Fionndrigh. It then turns north-west for 1.2 mi, climbing gently from 1,850 ft to 2,250 ft. It then turns south-west for 0.6 mi, climbing steeply from 2,250 ft to 2,950 ft. It then turns north-west for 0.5 mi, climbing gently from 2,950 ft to 3,050 ft. It then turns north-east for 3.0 mi, dropping from 3,050 ft to 2,900 ft. On the way you go over Can Ban (3,100 ft) and go over Meall a'Bhothain (2,950 ft). It then turns east for the last 1.1 mi to the summit, almost level. On the way you cross the Allt Glas a' Bheòil. The steepest part is between 2,300 ft and 3,050 ft, about 5.0 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,019 ft (920 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.See it in 3D.
Getting there
By car
Car park near Newtonmore. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Carn Sgulain car park57.07035,-4.15760
By train
Nearest station: Newtonmore, 1.6 mi (2.6 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Clan McPherson Museum, 1.3 mi (2.2 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Shop: Londis 1.3 mi (2.1 km)
- Place to eat: Newtonmore Grill 1.3 mi (2.1 km)
- Hostel: Newtonmore Hostel 1.3 mi (2.2 km)
- Café: The Wild Flour 1.4 mi (2.3 km)
- Café: Antlers Cafe 1.4 mi (2.3 km)
- Place to eat: The Letterbox 1.5 mi (2.3 km)
From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Carn Sgulain
Carn Sgulain is a Highland Munro ranked 269th of 282 by height. It rises only 235 ft (72 m) above the col linking it to A' Chailleach, its nearest higher neighbour a mile away. Carn Dearg lies 3.6 miles off, and it has no subsidiary tops.
The summit is easy to miss. The true high point is unmarked ground about 7 m north of the cairn, and another cairn about 150 m east-north-east is lower.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Carn Sgulain in the middle of each month. The shorter the day, the earlier you need to start.
Stag stalking season, 1 July to 20 October. On many estates, walkers are asked to keep to set routes on stalking days: check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code site's Heading for the Scottish Hills service before you go.
Nearest Munros
| Munro | Height | Straight-line distance |
|---|---|---|
| A' Chailleach | 3,049 ft (929 m) | 1.0 mi (1.7 km) |
| Carn Dearg | 3,103 ft (946 m) | 3.6 mi (5.8 km) |
| Geal Charn | 3,038 ft (926 m) | 8.7 mi (14 km) |
Common questions about Carn Sgulain
- How high is Carn Sgulain?
- Carn Sgulain is 3,019 ft (920 m), number 269 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Cairngorms and Monadhliath.
- How long does it take to climb Carn Sgulain?
- About 4 h 45 min up and 3 h 40 min back down by our route from Car park near Newtonmore, before stops: 10 mi (16 km) each way with 2,795 ft (852 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Carn Sgulain?
- Our route starts at Car park near Newtonmore. It is free to park.
- Can you climb Carn Sgulain without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Newtonmore, 1.6 mi (2.6 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Clan McPherson Museum, 1.3 mi (2.2 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Carn Sgulain a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the longer Munro days, with 2,795 ft (852 m) of ascent over 10 mi (16 km). Like every Munro it reaches over 3,000 ft, where the weather can be far worse than at the car park, so take a map and compass and check the mountain forecast.
- When is the best time to climb Carn Sgulain?
- Daylight runs from about 18 hours in mid June to 7 hours in mid December, so summer gives the most time. From 1 July to 20 October it is the stag stalking season, when some estates ask walkers to keep to set routes. In winter, snow and ice turn most Munros into mountaineering terrain.
A guide only. Mountain conditions change fast: carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and read the mountain forecast for the Cairngorms and Monadhliath before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Cairngorms and Monadhliath, written by forecasters for walkers and climbers. In winter, also read the Scottish Avalanche Information Service report for the area.
Where does the summit weather come from?
From MET Norway's forecast model, fetched for every Munro once an hour at the summit's own height. It is computer output for one point, not a forecast written for mountains, so treat it as a guide. The past hours are what the forecast said at the time. Wind chill, the freezing level and sunrise and sunset are worked out by this site from those figures; the freezing level assumes temperature drops steadily with height, so it can be well out when cold air sits in the glens.
How was this route drawn?
It follows footpaths and tracks mapped on OpenStreetMap, from a public car park to the summit, with heights from Copernicus elevation data. A computer picked the start as the car park with the quickest mapped way up, counting the climbing as well as the distance. Nobody has checked it on the hill yet, so it may not be the usual way up, and the path may be faint or missing on the ground. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Long walk-in: 10.2 mi one way.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:02:17.550Z. Start chosen automatically: the public car park on a public road with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit (busy roads and T4 paths weighted against).
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA), sampled every 50 m, 3-sample median, 5 m hysteresis on ascent.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-25.
How is the time up worked out?
With Naismith's rule, the standard hill-walking estimate: an hour for every 3.1 miles (5 km), plus an hour for every 1,969 ft (600 m) of climbing, with no stops. For this route that gives about 4 h 45 min, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
Where do the car parks and bus stops come from?
From OpenStreetMap. Distances are straight lines, not the way you would walk or drive. A bus stop on the map says nothing about how often a bus calls: many Highland buses run a few times a day, some only on school days or by booking, so check Traveline Scotland first. The map cannot tell whether a car park is on a public road, so a remote one may only be reachable on foot or by train.
Where do the Gaelic names and stories come from?
From the hill's article on English Wikipedia and its Wikidata entry, put into a few words of our own. Meanings and pronunciations are only given where the article states them; many Gaelic hill names are old and their meaning is uncertain.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. Carn Sgulain is hill 626 there.
Sources: Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata, Copernicus elevation data, Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX. All credits and licences.